Preliminary damage surveys indicate that the supercell that tracked northeast across Crittenden, Union, and Henderson Counties in western Kentucky on Saturday, March 28 produced two tornadoes. The first tornado in Union County was given a rating of EF-1.

Baseball-size hail was associated with the supercell. Near Pride in Union County, siding was shredded and windshields were broken.

A second more intense tornado formed in eastern Union County and tracked across western Henderson County. This tornado was rated EF-3. The EF scale (Enhanced Fujita scale) is described here.

...DAMAGE SURVEY RESULTS FOR THE EF3 TORNADO THAT STRUCK THECOMMUNITY OF CORYDON IN HENDERSON COUNTY KENTUCKY...

THE FOLLOWING IS A PRELIMINARY DAMAGE ASSESSMENT FOR THIS EVENT.

* EVENT DATE - SATURDAY MARCH 28 2009

* EVENT TIME - 443 PM CDT

* EVENT TYPE - EF3 TORNADO

* EVENT LOCATION - BEGAN 5 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF WAVERLY ALONG HWY 141 AND TRACKED NORTHEAST...THROUGH CORYDON AT APPPOXIMATELY 448 PM...AND ENDED 6 MILES SOUTHWEST OF HENDERSON JUST NORTH OF JARBOE LANE.

* PEAK WIND - 140 MPH

* AVERAGE PATH WIDTH - 300 YARDS (MAX WIDTH 400 YARDS)

* PATH LENGTH - 12 MILES

* INJURIES - 2

* FATALITIES - NONE

* DISCUSSION/DAMAGE - INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE HENDERSON COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGER...6 HOMES DESTROYED...10 HOMES WITH MAJOR DAMAGE...60 HOMES AND BUILDINGS WITH MINOR DAMAGE. SOME VEHICLES OVERTURNED AND ONE TRUCK PICKED UP AND THROWN ONE QUARTER MILE.

$$SHANKLIN/HOOPER

Path map of both tornadoes

EF-3 Tornado Path Map through Corydon

National Weather Service Damage Survey Team Photos

Photo of a Ford Ranger pickup truck that was blown one-quarter mile and found underneath tree debris. This photo was taken just inside the Henderson County line, less than a mile from the Union County line.

Photo of actual tornado: The tornado was nearly rain-wrapped, making visual identification of the vortex difficult from almost any angle. An emergency management official from Hopkins County took the following photo from just south of the Henderson County Airport. According to the photographer, there was debris in the air in the vicinity of the circled cloud feature. Being familiar with the area, he estimated the debris and cloud feature were in the Corydon area. Due to the distance involved and the proximity of rain shafts, neither the debris nor the exact location of the funnel are identifiable with certainty in the photo. The photo was taken about the same time as the still radar image below. Photo and information courtesy of Jim Needs.

Below is a graphic showing the hook-shaped supercell as it crossed the Union/Henderson County line. The associated tornado was rated EF-3 at about this time. The radar image is from the Evansville radar at 4:45 P.M. The large red polygon ahead of the supercell is a Tornado Warning issued by the National Weather Service. Other smaller red shapes are the outlines of urban areas such as Henderson.

One-hour loop of radar imagery from the Hopkinsville radar between 4 and 5 P.M. The line of storms was located in close proximity to an eastward-moving cold front.

One-hour radar loop of velocity imagery from the Hopkinsville radar between 4:30 and 5 P.M. Even at this large scale, the red/green velocity couplet indicative of strong rotation is clearly evident southwest of Evansville.

REGIONAL EVENT OVERVIEW:

An organized outbreak of severe thunderstorms affected much of western Kentucky and southwest Indiana on the afternoon of Saturday, March 28. A line of storms developed along a cold front as it entered southeast Illinois and the Kentucky Lake region of western Kentucky. The line of storms gradually intensified as it moved east across Tornado Watch 91. Numerous reports of large hail were received over the Pennyrile region of western Kentucky. Isolated reports of wind damage were received.

The following is a preliminary listing of hail, wind, and damage reports received by the NWS at Paducah through early Saturday evening.